Photo: Chris Heaton · CC BY-SA 2.0In Thirsk, 21% of households have dependent children, fewer than in 92% of UK towns
Households in Thirsk hold 2.1 people on average (England’s towns: 2.4). Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as Christian are common here: 54%, more than in 77% of UK towns. The 2021 Census put the town’s population at 5,891, in 2,764 households. The share of households without a car or van stands at 19%.
A median age of 47.3: Thirsk is older than 71% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. The biggest five-year age group is 50–54, with 7.6% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Thirsk, 47.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Only 3.6% of adults are full-time students in Thirsk
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the ONS’s NS-SEC classes), and where residents lived a year earlier.
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
With residents who moved in within the year at 12%, Thirsk is ahead of 92% of UK towns on that count. For comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Thirsk sits above 91% of UK towns for one-person households (36%)
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against North Yorkshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Across England’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is 4.3%; Thirsk has 3%. For one-person households, the comparison across England’s towns is 30%.
Thirsk: 16% of households live in a flat or apartment, above 75% of UK towns
Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
Across England’s towns, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house; in Thirsk, 23%. The census found that just over a quarter of households live in a terraced house here.
97% of residents have English as their main language, below 67% of UK towns
Country of birth, year of arrival and main language, Census 2021.
Born outside the UK, by region · share of all residents; the bar runs to 25%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Against a figure of 18% across England’s towns, the share of residents born outside the UK in Thirsk comes in at 7.5%. Across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English is 90%. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (5.4%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.9%).
A higher White British share than 60% of UK towns: 93% of residents
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White British · all residents
White British, not charted: 93% of Thirsk · North Yorkshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents with no religion is 38%, against 37% across England’s towns. Typically, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Other White (4.6%), Mixed or multiple (0.6%) and Pakistani (0.3%).
A larger share of adults who have never married than 56% of UK towns: 33%
Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.
Partnership status · residents 16 and over
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
On married adults and civil partners, 44% here is much the same as across England’s towns. The benchmark for adults who have never married across England’s towns: 39%. Some 165 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Unpaid carers are rarer here than in 63% of UK towns.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 28%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Thirsk, 21%, while 28% hold one at degree level (34%).
242nd highest median age among 624 UK towns of 4,000 to 8,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bailrigg is the youngest (18.9); Barton on Sea the oldest (65.3). Nearest to Thirsk in age: Pembury (47.2), North Baddesley (47.2), Helsby (47.3) and Old Windsor and Wraysbury (47.3).
Thirsk and its 7 nearest towns: 1 of them are older
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thirsk | 5,891 | — | 47.3 | 24% | 21% |
| Sowerby | 4,727 | 0.7 mi | 45 | 25% | 26% |
| Dishforth | 1,266 | 6.6 mi | 33.8 | 8.8% | 45% |
| Romanby | 3,825 | 7.9 mi | 52.4 | 30% | 22% |
| Northallerton | 13,314 | 8.1 mi | 47 | 25% | 24% |
| Leeming | 1,712 | 8.4 mi | 29.1 | 8.5% | 40% |
| Brompton | 2,034 | 9.3 mi | 46.7 | 22% | 23% |
| Langthorpe | 1,294 | 9.7 mi | 45.8 | 20% | 29% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “North Yorkshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in North Yorkshire (or England), summed the same way as Thirsk’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- Small counts are blurred. The ONS adds small random changes to Census counts to protect privacy, so the same total differs a little between tables, and the shares of a small town can move by a point or two.
Questions about Thirsk’s residents
What is the population of Thirsk?
The 2021 Census counted 5,891 people in Thirsk’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Thirsk?
The median age was 47.3 at the 2021 Census, older than 71% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Thirsk?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across North Yorkshire’s towns. 7.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Thirsk?
38% said they had no religion and 54% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is Thirsk good for families?
21% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Thirsk’s schools page.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area (TS002, TS003, TS004, TS007A, TS008, TS015, TS017, TS019, TS021, TS029, TS030, TS039, TS044, TS045, TS062, TS067). All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.